Vegetable root washer



Feb. 27, 1945.

A. G. SUELFLOW VEGETABLE ROOT WASHER Filed July 16, 1945 INVENTOR ALFREDG.SUELFLQW ATTORNEYS Patented Feb.- 27, 1945 VEGETABLE R QT WASHER'Alfred G. Suelflow, Milwaukee, Wis.; Gordon 1. Hansen, executor of saidAlfred G. Suelflow, deceased, 'assignor' to Felins Tying MachineCompany, Milwaukee, Wis, a corporation of Wisconsin Application July 16,1943, Serial No. 494,901

1' Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in vegetable root washers.

One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of animproved type of washer which is especially adapted for use for washingvegetable roots, such as radishes, turnips, onions, and similar rootvegetables, which are used for marketing purposes, so that thesevegetables can be sent to the market in a comparatively clean and neatcondition which will add to the market value of the same and present aneat appearance at the retailers.

The specific object of my invention is to simplify the construction andimprove the shape of the washer drum, and substitute vents for the slotsdisclosed in the Suelfio-w and Wolford Patent #1,867,533.

A further object of my invention is to provide a drum with V-shapedribs, whereby the same are strengthened and said ribs being inwardlyextended serve as blades or baflies.

With the above objects in view, the invention consists in certainpeculiarities of construction and combination of parts, as will be fullyset forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing andsubsequently claimed.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 represents a longitudinal, sectional, elevational view of awasher embodying the features of my invention, the section beingindicated by line l--l of Figure 2. I

Figure 2 is a cross section of the same, the section being indicated byline 22 of Figure 1.

Referring by characters to the drawing, a base member is provided havingspaced standards l-l terminating with aligned bearings 22; 3-3 indicatesside walls of a polygonally shaped drum and at the intersections of theflat drum wall surfaces the same are bowed inwardly to form blades 44,which blades are in V-shape formation and not only serve asstrengthening ribs, but they also serve as bafi'les for agitating thevegetables in a rinsing'and washing operation. The various flat planesof the drum are provided with rows of fluid discharge apertures 5extending from end to end of said obliquely be in gear connection withany standard motor 8, shown by dotted line in Figure 1. This drivemechanism forms no part of my invention and as a matter of fact, in someinstances the gear wheel 8 may serve as a hand crank.

The trunnions have fitted therein a fixed vented flui'd feed pipe 9which extends through the drum at an angle to its normal axis. The pipeis closed at the driven end of the machine and has fitted thereto at theopposite end, a locking collar m, whereby said pipe is held againstrotation with reference to the bearing 1'.

One of the plane walls 3 is partly cut away to form a feed opening, asbest shown in Figure 2 and said opening is controlled by a sliding coverII, which cover is formed with depending lips II, that snugly fit thejuxtaposed inner walls of the V-shaped blades 4. The cover is furtherconfined by angle iron strips l2 which form runways a groove inconjunction with the V-shaped walls just mentioned. The cover and saidstrips are suitably connected to the end walls 6 of the drum. Asindicated in Figure 1 of the drawing, the cover I I is in its closedposition with reference to the drum opening.

While the eccentric drum and associated parts are particularly designedfor washing or scrubbing vegetables of the root variety, it isunderstood that any other articles may be tumbled,

scrubbed and cleaned in said drum without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

From the foregoing description, it is understood that in the operation,the vegetables of the solid variety are loaded into the drum through thefeed opening and thereafter the same is closed by the cover ll. Water orother cleansing fluid is then introduced through the pipe 9 and the drumis thereafter rotated, whereby the articles washed, scrubbed and cleanedare engaged and tumbled by the blades 4 incidental to rotation of thedrum and said articles will also travel back and forth throughout thelength of the drum, due to its eccentric axis, whereby a longitudinaland rotary tumbling movement is imparted thereto while said particlesare sprayed downwardly from the water pipe in an ample flow of water tothoroughly rinse, scrub and wash the articles of dirt or foreign matteradhering thereto, whereby the articles, when completely clean are readyfor market in a sanitary condition, which also materially improves theappearance of the articles for sales purposes. Owing to the fact thatthe fiat octagonal planes connect the V-shaped blades, when roots slideoff the V blades, they will travel down the flat inclined planethroughout its length and are scrubbed'the entire length of saidsurface, aided in scrubbing by the interrupted surfaces of the pluralityof drain openings. It is understood that the drainage through the ventholes of the drums is properly taken care of by any suitable pan or trappositioned under the drum with relation to its base.

While I have shown and described one exemplification of my inventionminutely as to detail,

tersecting the corners of the walls to form tumbling blades, one of thefiat walls being provided with a filling opening, angle iron stripsextending into the V shaped grooves adjacent the filling opening formingcompanion slots in conjunction with faces of the V shaped grooves, the

othersurface of said angle iron being spaced above it is understood thatI may vary features:

the slotdeveloped by the V shaped wallsto form a right angle slot inconjunction with the first mentioned grooves, a cover for the openinghaving downturned lips forming corners engaging therig'ht angle slots.

ALFRED G. SUELFLOW.

